Document Based Questions (DBQs)

Abolition

This question is based on the accompanying document (1-13). The question is designed to test your ability to work with historical documents. Some of the documents have been edited for the purpose of this question. As you analyze the documents, take into account both the source of each document and any point of view that may be presented in the document.

Historical Context:
In the states north of Maryland, all slaves had been freed by 1820. Many northerners came to dislike slavery; some became active and organized opponents of slavery and worked for its abolition. However, abolitionists did not always agree on strategy or share the same values.

Tasks:
Using information from the documents and your knowledge of United States history, answer the questions that follow each document in Part A. Your answers to the questions will help you write the essay in Part B, in which you will be asked to answer the following questions:

What arguments and tactics did abolitionists use to oppose slavery?

What differences existed in the tactics and arguments used by abolitionists?

Part A: Short-Answer Questions

Directions: Analyze the documents and answer the short-answer questions that follow each document in the space provided.

Document #1
"The American Colonization Society," The New-England Magazine 2, no. 1 (January 1832): 13-23.
We can only learn the principles and purposes of the Colonization Society from their official reports, and from the pages of a periodical, entitled, the African Repository, which is their avowed and acknowledged organ. According to these authorities the principles of the institution are as follows:

1. The Society contends that Africa, and not America, is the native country of negroes
born in this hemisphere. …

4. It contends that the presence of the blacks among us is a curse alike to themselves and us…

6. It discourages emancipation, unless for the purpose of expatriation. Emancipation, with the liberty to remain on this side of the Atlantic, is an act of dreamy madness.

7. It proposes that the black population of the United States shall ultimately be conveyed away through its means, and affirms that this is practicable….

What does the American Colonization Society propose as the solution to slavery and racism?

Document #2
Lydia Maria Child, An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans (Boston: Allen & Ticknor, 1833)
Neither the planters nor the Colonization Society, seem to ask what right we have to remove people from the places where they have been born and brought up…
…With regar to marrying your daughters, I believe the feeling in opposition to such unions is quite as strong among the colored class, as it is among white people.--While the prejudice exists, such instances must be exceedingly rare, because the consequence is degradation in society. Believe me, you may safely trust to anything that depends on the pride and selfishness of unregenerated human nature.

Perhaps, a hundred years hence, some negro Rothschild may come from Hayti, with his seventy millions of pounds, and persuade some white woman to sacrifice herself to him--Stranger things than this do happen every year.--But before that century has passed away, I apprehend there will be a sufficient number of well-informed and elegant colored women in the world, to meet the demands of colored patricians. Let the sons and daughters of Africa both be educated, and then they will be fit for each other. They will not be forced to make war upon their white neighbors for wives; nor will they, if they have intelligent women of their own, see anything so very desirable in the project. Shall we keep this class of people in everlasting degradation, for fear one of their descendants may marry our great-great-great-great-grandchild?

How does Lydia Maria Child respond to the Colonization Society’s fears about intermarriage?

Why is Lydia Maria Child opposed to colonization?

Document #3
Meeting Minutes, Anti-Slavery Society of Salem and Vicinity (1834)
At a meeting of the friends of the abolition of slavery held at the house of Rev’d. Cyrus P. Grosvenor in Salem, Thursday Eve, January 2d 1834—It was moved that the meeting be opened with prayer—moved that Rev’d. Mr. Grosvenor lead in prayer—after which, on motion of Wm. B. Dodge, Rev’d. Mr. Grosvenor was chosen moderator & John Tuttle Secretary—
The first question was, "Whether there was any reasonable hope that the coloured population could be removed by the Colonization Society?" The question was negatived by all present.*
On motion of Wm. B. Dodge
Resolved—That it is expedient that an Anti-Slavery Society should be forthwith formed in this town.
The resolution was zealously supported & unanimously adopted.

Why is the Anti-Slavery Society of Salem and Vicinity opposed to colonization?

Why did those present at the meeting decide to form an Anti-Slavery Society?

Document #4
"A Declaration of the Sentiments of the People of Hartford [Conn.], Regarding the Measures of the Abolitionists" (1835)
… the Citizens of Hartford cannot view with indifference the excitement which now prevails on the subject of slavery in the United States…This excitement has been occasioned by the rash and reckless measures and proceedings of the Abolitionists of the Middle and Northern States. We believe that these proceedings will result in no good, but much evil… we believe, and declare, that the conduct of the Abolitionists, in distributing their incendiary publications… With these views of the subject, we declare our solemn conviction, that it is the duty of all good citizens, by word, deed and example, to condemn and discountenance the violent measures of the Abolitionists, and to use all reasonable and peaceable means, consistent with their own rights, to put an end to them; to restore quiet to the public mind, and harmony and confidence among the people of every section of our happy confederacy.

tactics of the abolitionists do the people of Hartford find especially distasteful?

Why do the people of Hartford object to abolitionism?

Document #5
Letter, William Lloyd Garrison to the Salem Female Anti-Slavery Society (January 14, 1839)
I am much pleased with the following sentence in your letter:--"However our opinions may differ on other subjects of equal importance, yet we trust in the cause of abolition our interest is mutual, our hopes and desires, our end and aim, one." This is noble. If all in our ranks possessed so catholic a spirit, there could be no jealousies, no rivalries, no divisions, no plottings for supremacy, among us. We should be invincible in our strength. I trust that I have ever manifested this spirit, thought it has not always been exhibited toward me. …

How did William Lloyd Garrison characterize the attitudes of abolitionists?

Document #6
Letter, William Lloyd Garrison to the Salem Female Anti-Slavery Society (April 8, 1839)
…It is, perhaps, somewhat remarkable,--considering the proximity of the place to Boston,--that I have never given a single lecture in Salem since I began to plead for "the suffering and the dumb." Your city is not deficient in intellect, in pecuniary ability, or in hospitality to strangers; but I fear it is greatly so in heart. You have among you, some choice abolition spirits, of both sexes, who are "fruitful among the faithless found," and very much do I admire their zeal, firmness, and self-sacrificing disposition. Unfortunately, all are not abolitionists who are called such, or who make flaming pretensions on the subject of slavery. The Lord, however, is sifting us from time to time, and trying every man’s work as by fire. No one can lament the divisions that exist in our ranks more than I do; but they were to have been effected, if not in their present shape, at least in some form and from some cause in the progress of our sacred enterprise.

With much respect, I remain,Yours, ever to do good,Wm. Lloyd Garrison

How did William Lloyd Garrison characterize the attitudes of abolitionists?

What did Garrison mean when he said that Salem was deficient “in heart”?

Petition for the slave. Begin at once to circulate petitions for the immediate abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, and in Florida, against the admission of Florida into the Union as a slave state, for the prohibition of the internal slave trade...Let every abolitionist bestir himself also in circulating petitions to the legislature of the state in which he lives, praying the repeal of all laws graduating rights by the skin.

Work for the slave. Distribute anti-slavery publications, circulate them in your neighborhood, take them with you on journeys, take them as you go to meetings, to the polls, to the stores, to mill, to school, and every where; establish an anti-slavery library; get subscribers for anti-slavery newspapers, and collect money for anti-slavery societies; gather facts illustrating the condition of slaves; search out all who have lived in slave states, get them to write out their testimony as to the food, clothing, lodging, shelter, labor, and punishments of slaves, their moral condition, the licentiousness of slave-holders, &c., &c., and forward them to some anti-slavery paper for publication...

Work for the free people of color; …

The New England Anti-Slavery Almanac laid out specific tactics that abolitionists might use. What were they?

How effective do you think these tactics might have been?

Document #8
"True, Vs. False, Democracy." The National Era 6 (30 December 1852): 210.
…We are prepared to place ourselves exclusively upon Democratic ground. The Pittsburgh Platform causes us to be known henceforth by the name of Free Democrats… The issue we are to make with the new Administration and its supporters will be, Which is genuine, practical, consistent Democracy - their policy or ours? So far as they propose proper Democratic measures…we are to support them, and to show ourselves prepared, not only upon one question, but upon all questions, to abide the test of thorough practical Democracy. So far as they choose to show themselves not Democrats, but ultra conservatives, upon the question of Slavery, and measures growing out of it, we are to confront them, and to insist upon the application of a rigid Democratic test, which will justify our fidelity and consistency. Strip of disguises; and let the truth prevail, and the Democratic party must cease to be the sponsor for slavery; and in the voice and through the action of the Democratic party the glorious consummation must be accomplished, which will involve the abolition of slavery. One or two things is certain – a Democratic party must overthrow slavery, or slavery will prevent the continued existence of a Democratic party.

How does the author of the above extract propose to "overthrow slavery"?

Document #9
Review of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Boston Morning Post Review (1852)
Since "Jane Eyre," no book has had so sudden and so great a success on this side of the Atlantic as "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Everybody has read it, is reading, or is about to read it...As all the world knows, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" purports to be a picture of slavery as it now exists in the Southern States. It is an attempt to present the accidental and inevitable evils of slavery side by side with the practical advantages of the system in its paternal care of a long depressed, if not actually inferior, race...The main facts stated, also, may have occurred somewhere or other, and at distant intervals of times; but the aggregation of so many rare horrors into two small volumes, produces a picture which we are happy to believe does not do justice to practical slavery in our Southern States. In a word, the effect of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," as a whole, is grossly to exaggerate the actual evils of negro slavery in this country. As a didactic work, therefore, it should be swallowed with a considerable dose of allowance…Suffice it to say, then, that "Uncle Tom's Cabin," even with our dose of allowance, is the finest picture yet painted of the abominable horrors of slavery, (bad enough at the best, and inevitably,) and that it is likely to do more for the cause of liberal abolitionism, than all that has been preached, said, and sung for a long time.

According to the reviewer, how did Uncle Tom’s Cabin aid the "cause of liberal abolitionism"?

The reviewer suggests that a work of fiction might be a more powerful medium for ending slavery than a lecture or sermon. Why?

Document #10
Charlotte Forten Grimke journal entry
[Tuesday, December 26, 1854]. This morning, Sarah [Cassey Smith] and I went to Boston to the Anti-Slavery Fair, in which I was somewhat disappointed, as many of the most beautiful articles had been sold, and they had but very few books…The rooms were tastefully decorated with evergreens and looked quite Christmas-like…In the evening returned to the fair, and saw Mr. [Wendell] Phillips for a few moments…

Monday, December 8 [1856]. Went to the A.[nti]-S.[lavery] sewing circle at Miss [Lydia] Chase’s. Only three or four were present. We had a very pleasant evening. Miss Chase showed us an inkstand which she had purchased at a children’s Fair, held for the benefit of the Kansas sufferers…

Christmas Day, December 1856. Spent the day very delightfully at the Fair.—Saw many beautiful things and many interesting people. Had the good fortune to be made known to three of the noblest and best of women;--Mesdames [Maria W.] Chapman, [Elizabeth] Follen, and [Lydia M.] Child; who were very kind and pleasant to me. Saw the most distinguished champions of our cause. Mr. [Wendell] Phillips’ kind pressure of the hand and beaming smile, I shall not soon forget, nor the cordial greetings of our dauntless pioneer, and his lovely wife. Mrs. [Francis] Drake of Leonminister I found a very social and pleasant person. She was anxious to have me go with her to Fitchburg, and attend the Fair. Mrs. Follen has a real motherly kindness of manner. She is a lovely looking silver haired old lady; Mrs. Chapman’s irresistible sweetness and grace of manner, I have no words to describe. Mrs. [Lydia M.] Child smilingly told me that she visited our house once,--when I must have been a “wee toddling.” … I attended our Salem table part of the time, and then assisted Mrs. Follen…
From The Journals of Charlotte Forten Grimke, ed. by Brenda Stevenson (Oxford University Press, 1988.

Charlotte Forten describes some of the functions held by anti-slavery societies. What are they?

What purposes did these functions serve?

Document #11
Anti-Slavery Fair

City/State

Year

Total Amount Raised

Boston, Mass.

1834

$360

Boston, Mass.

1856

$5,250

Pennsylvania

1850-1856

$9,807.27

Cincinnati, Ohio

1849

$800

Analyze the above table. What does it reveal about the role of fairs as an anti-slavery tactic?

Discuss the distribution of handkerchiefs such as "The Poor Slave" as an anti-slavery tactic. What purpose would such a tactic serve? Who might possess such a handkerchief?

Document #13
"The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point" by Elizabeth Barret Browning (1847)
Browning wrote "Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point" in response to a specific request by American abolitionists. This poem was published in the 1848 Edition of The Liberty Bell, by Friends of Freedom and distributed through the Abolitionists Anti-slavery Bazaar in December of 1847.

XX.
Even in that single glance I had
Of my child's face,--I tell you all,--
I saw a look that made me mad,
The master's look, that used to fall
On my soul like his lash,--or worse,
Therefore, to save it from my curse,
I twisted it round in my shawl.

Explain what happened in stanza XX of Browning’s poem.

Why might a poem such as this be an effective tool for abolitionists to use to persuade the public to end slavery?

Part B: Essays

Directions: Write a well-organized essay that includes an introduction, several paragraphs, and a conclusion. Use evidence from at least five documents in the body of the essay. Support your response with relevant facts, examples, and details. Include additional outside information.

Historical Context: In the states north of Maryland, all slaves had been freed by 1820. Many northerners came to dislike slavery; some became active and organized opponents of slavery and worked for its abolition. However, abolitionists did not always agree on strategy or share the same values.

Task: Using information from the documents and your knowledge of United States history, write an essay in which you answer the following questions

What arguments and tactics did abolitionists use to oppose slavery?

What differences existed in the tactics and arguments used by abolitionists?

Guidelines:
In your essay, be sure to:

Address all aspects of the Task by accurately analyzing and interpreting at least five documents.

Incorporate information from the documents in the body of the essay.

Incorporate relevant outside information.

Support the theme with relevant facts, examples, and details.

Use a logical and clear plan of organization.

Introduce the theme by establishing a framework that is beyond a simple restatement of the Task or Historical Context and conclude with a summation of the theme.